Confrontations
by pretty in orange
Summary: Confronting the Rido incident, and everything it brought with it... ShikiXRima, slight RukaXKain. Formerly "Dreams".
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not, did not and never will own Vampire Knight. I make absolutely no profit from this, and it is purely for fun.

Author Note: I'm finally taking a crack at my favorite couple... Well, we'll see how this goes, won't we? This is Rima's point of view.

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"Rima? Rima?" Shiki's voice became more and more panicked.

"Mm... Evening..." I looked up at Shiki from my spot in his bed. He had, inevitably, gotten up, leaving me cold and alone under the covers.

"Why are you in here? Are you alright?" His hand was on my shoulder, the side that had been injured when his father had possessed him. Yet he was barely touching me. He was so afraid of hurting me lately, even though I was never scared of him.

"I had a bad dream..." I murmured and pulled him down for a kiss. He tasted like pocky and blood tablets, an odd mixture.

"What was it about?" He sat beside me, his hand covering mine. He knew exactly what it was about. So did I. It had been happening ever since our fight.

"I..." I clutched his hand against me. "I had a dream that we couldn't get you back... That you wouldn't fight... and it was permanent."

Shiki leaned down and kissed my forehead. "I'll always fight to be with you, Rima."

I held my hand over my chest where I could still feel the dull ache of where Shiki's blood whip had pierced me. Shiki stood up quickly, and started to walk away.

"Don't go." I couldn't help the whimper that escaped my lips. "Please, you know it wasn't your fault. Don't go, Shiki."

He turned, but it was obvious he was afraid to come near me.

"Shiki... don't go." I pulled him down as soon as he got close enough, causing him to topple half over me in the most ungraceful way.

"You're not giving me much choice, are you?" Ever so carefully, he moved beside me instead of on top of me. "I'm sorry you got hurt... that I couldn't fight hard enough to spare you the pain..."

"I'm not blaming you." I whispered in his ear. "I'm not mad, I'm not upset, and I'm not scared. Don't blame yourself when I'm not scarred."

"You're in pain." Shiki's eyebrows furrowed in worry. "And it was me who caused it."

"It wasn't you." I swatted at his hand. "Don't think like that."

He tucked his face against my neck, though I knew that had to be torture for him. "Don't let me hurt you again, Rima, not ever."

"Shiki..." I moved to his level and kissed him quickly. "Please. I don't want you to think that way. You're a great person. It wasn't you who hurt me."

"I couldn't stop him!" Shiki looked away and swallowed hard. "I couldn't stop him..."

"Oh..." That's when it really clicked for me. "You've been having dreams too, haven't you? Nightmares, like me?"

That was all it took. Suddenly we were wrapped up in each other's arms, him crying silently, me sobbing quietly.

Finally, both of us cried out, we just lay there, holding each other.

"Time for classes!" Ruka stood in the doorway, but when she saw us, she muttered a quick, "never mind", and darted away, closing the door.

"We need to communicate more..." I held him close. "We can't keep secrets this big... It's bad for us. Really bad."

"I'm sorry." Shiki mumbled in my ear. "I didn't want to worry you..."

"I'd rather be worried than have you keep things like this a secret." I reached up to play with his hair. "I don't want you toughing out this stuff on your own. It's just not right."

"We should get to class." Shiki tried to get away from me, but I held him tight.

"What were your nightmares about?" I asked, my arms still tight around him, not letting him go anywhere until this was over.

"Class is starting..." I didn't let go of him. He had never been this nervous about getting to class on time before.

I said his name and he looked at me, eyes panicked. He was scared, scared to tell me, of what I would think.

"Shiki..." I wove my fingers through his hair and pulled his forehead down to my shoulder. "I'm not scared of you. I never will be. And I won't be mad for something you can't control."

"I had a dream..." He trailed off and squirmed against me a bit. "That _I_ hurt you. Again."

"_You _never hurt me." I argued quietly. "You know that. We've known each other since we were kids. Have _you _ever hurt me of your own volition? No."

We were very quiet for a moment, until Takuma opened the door and peered in at us. "Class is starting." He warned, the ever-present smile on his face.

"We're not up for it." I pulled Shiki closer. "Neither of us is feeling too well."

"Headmaster won't be too happy about that." Takuma's grin flickered. "Are you sure you can't come?"

"We're sure." Both Shiki and I said at the same time. "Please go."

Takuma shut the door and walked away, muttering under his breath.

"What if I can't fight him off next time?" Shiki looked at me, his face open and unguarded. "What if I can't stop him from really hurting you?" Shiki was rarely so vulnerable with anyone but me, and even now, with only him and me here, I was caught off guard.

"I'll help you, promise." I pulled him closer. "I'll always help you, anytime you need it. You know that. Because I love you."

He pulled me in for a kiss, and suddenly it was just us, no class we were missing, just us, wrapped up in each other's arms.

The dreams were kept at bay for just long enough, we had the whole night to ourselves, and it was just us.

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Author Note: Geez, this took me two days. That's just ridiculous. What did I do right/wrong/in the middle? Tell me your opinions. If you don't like reviewing, PM me with anything you might want to say, I don't mind.


	2. Tries

Author Note: This was going to be a one-shot, but due to popular demand, I decided to give it a go at a series fic. I just really like the idea of Rima and Shiki talking about the Rido incident, as Zero kiryu's girl mentioned. (Honorable mention to her for asking if I could continue this by the way. Thank you!) Tell me in the comments; don't you think there would be some tension about the whole thing? Be honest.

**Disclaimer: **I do not, did not, and never will own Vampire Knight. I make absolutely no profit from this.

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"Rima." I opened my eyes to Shiki leaning over me. "Get up, please. We have a modeling job. In about an hour."

Last night had been good and bad, each in their own respects. Shiki and I had talked about the Rido incident, both ended up crying over it and our nightmares, and eventually fallen asleep while everyone else was at class.

"How is your chest today?" Shiki asked, referring to my injury from my fight with Rido.

I sat up and rubbed at my eyes, pretending not to have heard him. Light streamed in, even through Shiki's blackout curtains. I would have to make sure at least I brought my umbrella today, or we'd both be sunburned.

Without any warning, Shiki dived down and kissed me, a deep, hard kiss that was not lacking in passion.

When he pulled away, I looked up at him. "What was that for?"

"Answer me." Shiki had his shirt halfway buttoned.

"Were you trying to bribe me?" I looked up at him. "What is the answer you want?"

"The bribe was not for a specific answer, just to make sure I got an answer." Shiki kissed my forehead. "Come on, get ready. Do I have to dress you like a child?"

"You've got some attitude today." I commented, heading for the door. "What's eating you?"

"Do you honestly want to fight right now?" Shiki looked at me, and his left eye flashed. He bent over, clutching at his head.

"Shiki!" I rushed over to his side. His breath came in short, ragged gasps, and he collapsed. "Shiki, you can fight it." I rubbed his arm. I couldn't do anything, but from my angle I could see his eye flashing from Shiki's baby blue to Rido's dangerous red.

Shiki was trembling as the flashing of his eye finally stopped, as his left eye settled on blue, as I lay beside him on the floor.

He stared at me as I pressed against him, wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.

"You can win." I whispered in his ear. "Because you are stronger than him, I know it."

His shaking slowly ceased, and he fell asleep, obviously worn out. I debated for a minute whether to try to move him to his bed or leave him there, and then decided it was for the better not to move him. He didn't need to wake up right now, we could skip our modeling job.

Takuma peeked in, looked around and then down at us. "Is everything alright, Rima?" He smiled at me.

"Tell my ride, when she gets here, that I can't make it to the shoot and neither can Shiki." I whispered. "Shiki isn't feeling well, and I need to keep an eye on him." I looked back at Shiki, who even in his sleep, his eyebrows were drawn in close, as if he had to fight to even sleep peacefully.

"May I ask what happened?" Takuma had lowered his voice, but Shiki still squirmed in his sleep.

"Rido tried again." I stroked Shiki's hair and he immediately calmed. "I think it's best for him to stay here, and me as well."

"Right." Takuma's smile had disappeared, leaving an uncharacteristic frown in its place. "I'll tell your agent that you have the stomach flu."

"Good. We haven't used that one yet this year." I closed my eyes. "I'm sorry you have to lie for us, Takuma..."

"Don't worry about it." He flashed a quick smile, but a fake one, and shut the door softly.

I resigned myself to listening to Shiki's breaths and tried to relax. But I knew that if Shiki had truly fought Rido off, he would only try harder the next time...

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Author Note: Well, I'm not having the best of days now. I want to get a few more chapters in, but I'm upset right now and don't know how much more Shima drama I can handle. We'll see. Comment, PM me about the story, do whatever you like to get a hold of me. Thank you for using your precious time to read my story, I appreciate it.


	3. Chapter 3

Author Note: Day is getting a little bit better. I feel a little bit better. I wanted to get this chapter done and up before tomorrow because I want a bit of a break tomorrow. Maybe. We'll see.

**Disclaimer: **I do not, did not and never will own Vampire Knight. I make absolutely no profit from writing this or posting it am just a lowly student.

* * *

When Shiki woke up that evening, he looked normal enough, but he was scared. He couldn't move as much as he should've been able to, and when moved, he flinched as if he had been beaten. I managed to get him into his bed, and although he didn't say it, I could tell he was in pain.

"Shiki..." I whispered, mostly just to myself.

Shiki lay there, his breathing somewhat labored and several of his muscles twitching. I reached out and touched his cheek, but he flinched away. I tried my best not to take it personally.

"Shiki..." I repeated and his eyes locked on mine.

"I'll be OK." He sounded a little fuzzy, but he gave me a smile that was really more of a grimace. "It shouldn't take long with my advanced healing." He moved his hand just enough to hold mine, even though I could tell it just about killed him, metaphorically of course.

"You did good." I told him. "You want some pocky?"

"No." Shiki mumbled.

"If you drank some of my blood you might feel better faster..." I offered.

He seemed to contemplate this for a second, and then shook his head almost imperceptibly side to side. "You don't have to, Rima..."

"We do that all the time. It's not a big deal." I swept my hair away from my throat and leaned in close to him. "It'll help, Shiki. Please? I hate seeing you in pain."

Seconds later, I felt the slight prick as his fangs sank in, then the strange euphoria of the actual bite. I let him drink as much as he wanted, in all the times we had shared our blood with one another, we had never hurt each other.

When he finally pulled his fangs from my neck, I lay beside him, being careful not to bump him or hurt him in any way.

"Rima?" He sounded a little clearer now, as if he had broken through a fog.

"Hm?" I looked at him and felt the two punctures heal up.

Shiki opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it. Something even I didn't recognize flitted through his eyes and he said, "What happened to our modeling job?"

"Takuma lied his ass off and told our agent that we both had the stomach flu." I shrugged. "Not a big deal. We need to ditch more often when you're not being possessed."

"Takuma? Lied?" Shiki chuckled to himself. "He's the most honest person in these dorms."

"Yeah, we'll probably be explaining why we ditched later." I smiled at him. "But it's fine. Just get better."

"Did Takuma rat me out?" When I gave him a quizzical look he added, "About Rido I mean."

"I don't think so." I shrugged a bit. "I didn't tell him not to or anything, but if someone asked then he would probably spill the beans."

"Because everyone probably thinks we're holed up in here for another reason." He looked at me, waiting for it to click, but it didn't.

"What reason?" I pulled the blankets up around us more. "What would they think?"

Shiki raised an eyebrow at me just as the door banged open.

"Hey! Are you two using protection?" Aidou asked in the loudest scream he could possibly manage.

"That." Shiki muttered in my ear.

"Aidou, get out." I shooed the blond out. "Today is not the day. Unless you have a death wish, you should get the hell out. And shut the door."

Aidou ran down the stairs, ranting about me wanting a baby and other obscene ideas. Of course, he left the door wide open.

"I think I have to go downstairs and let the annoyed Siamese cat out of the bag." I started to get out of Shiki's bed.

"Alright." Shiki yawned, tried to look nonchalant, but failed and just looked lonely.

"I'll be quick." I planted my feet on the floor just as a resounding _crack _echoed through the house. "Oh, looks like Lord Kaname got involved. Now I can be really quick."

Shiki still pouted as I walked out of the room, and I couldn't blame him. We had spent a lot of time together lately, and separation, even just going a floor away, was difficult.

"I'll be right back." I promised him as I headed for the stairs.

But first I had to deal with everyone...

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Author Note: Yes, their relationship can be viewed as clingy. But I see it more as they need each other, each for different reasons. Also, there was going to be more dirty jokes to Aidou, but I had to cut him off for the decency of this story. Review, PM me, I love to hear opinions on my story however they come to me! Thank you for using your valuable time to read my story, I appreciate it!


	4. Chapter 4

Author Note: It is way too early. I would love to go back to bed, but that wouldn't work. So I'm writing on this, again.

**Disclaimer: **I do not, did not, and never will own Vampire Knight. I make absolutely no profit from this.

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"Rima?" Lord Kaname looked at me as I took the last few steps down. "Is Shiki alright?"

"Right now." I wove my way in between everyone and plopped down on the couch. "Rido tried possessing him again, but he was able to fight it off. He's not in the best of shape right this second, but he's getting better."

"We need to put a stop to that." Lord Kaname murmured, but his voice alone told me he didn't have any ideas. We had nowhere to turn, really. Everything depended on Shiki and if he could fight off Rido on his own, at least for now.

"So you and Shiki weren't having a love-fest up there?" Aidou raised an eyebrow at me, suspicious.

"No, Aidou." I rolled my eyes. "Contrary to popular belief, we don't have sex constantly."

"Really, Aidou." Ruka glared at the blond boy. "You're such a pervert."

"I will make sure you're excused from classes for a while." Kaname interrupted. "Shiki as well. We need you to keep an eye on him, and it's safest for everyone if you're not in class."

"Yes, Lord Kaname." I stood and headed for the stairs. "May I be excused now?"

"Yes." Lord Kaname nodded. "Be aware, Rima, you're the only one who can help Shiki right now."

I forced myself up the stairs and back towards Shiki's room. I didn't want to shirk my responsibilities with Shiki; I loved him. But I felt heavy, tired, and frustrated that I was the only one who could help him. The weight of the world was on my shoulders right then, and I was being crushed, or so it felt.

"Rima?" Shiki was leaning against the doorway. He tipped my chin up, forcing me to meet his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I mumbled, and his eyes narrowed, but he wouldn't push me. He was always a little too careful, like asking one too many questions would shatter me inside.

"What did Lord Kaname say?" Shiki wrapped his arm around me and pulled me in close.

"That we're excused from class for a little while." I kissed his cheek gently. "Both of us because he wants me to keep an eye on you."

"Mm." Shiki buried his face in my hair. "I'm sorry I'm causing so much trouble."

"Stop saying that. It's not your fault." I hooked one arm around his neck. "You did really well fighting Rido off. Right now you need rest." I tried to turn him around and take him back to his bed.

Instead he pinned me against the wall, kissing me with a wild passion. I wasn't sure why he was doing it, at the moment, but I returned his feverish fervor.

Finally he pulled away from me, his iced blue gaze on mine. "Why aren't you afraid of me?" We were barely an inch apart; I could still feel his breath on my lips.

"Because I love you and I know you would never hurt me." I replied, I thought that answer would be obvious. "Because I trust you. I hate your father, but I trust you. And love you."

Shiki closed his eyes, yet he didn't let me go. I was still pinned to the wall when he said, "You should be afraid, Rima." Then, he spoke the five little words that broke my heart. "I am just a puppet."

"That's not true!" I hadn't yelled in a long time, and it even shocked Shiki. "I'm going to tell you what I told you when you were first possessed, you need to love yourself more! I'm never going to blame you for what Rido does to you, but I can blame you for not loving yourself enough to not believe crap like that!"

Shiki was trembling, he hated it when I yelled, but I was shaking just as hard.

"I'm sorry, Rima." He pulled me in close instead of pinning me to the wall. "I'm sorry."

My chest, where Rido's blood whip had stabbed me, ached from the tenseness of the situation, but I ignored it. I wrapped my arms around Shiki and looked at him. His icicle blue eyes regarded me with fear, more than I had seen in his eyes in a long time.

"We've acquired quite a crowd." I noted, finally noticing Ruka, Aidou and Takuma sitting halfway up the stairs, watching us. I sighed and Takuma waved. "Come on." I hauled Shiki inside his room and shut the door. "You are not just a puppet. You are a sweet, loving, wonderful person. You're my boyfriend, and the best friend I could ever have all rolled up in one, and no puppet could be my boyfriend. Just because Rido has taken control of you a couple times does not make you his puppet. It makes you a mistreated son."

"Rima, Rima, Rima..." Shiki smiled. It wasn't a perfect smile, or fake like the ones he used for his modeling jobs. It was real, but damaged, all there, but somehow cracked and chipped.

"Don't speak." I kissed him, and after we finally quit kissing, I held him.

"Rima, Rima, Rima..." He said again. "You're always here for me..."

I chuckled a bit, mostly to myself and whispered in his ear, "Because I know you'd do the same if it was me."

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Author Note: Wow, it seems like this chapter took forever, but it's only been a few hours. I kept falling asleep at my desk (darn my sleep schedule) but this chapter is done. I wanted this to be my tie it all up chapter but everything doesn't seem to be resolved yet. Review, PM me about the story, I don't mind how you contact me, but I love your opinions!


	5. Chapter 5

Author Note: This is what happens when your home-schoolteacher is in bed with the worst cold ever.

**Disclaimer**: I do not, did not, and never will own Vampire Knight. I make absolutely no profit whatsoever from this.

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The next few days Shiki seemed stable enough. I stayed with him for the majority of that time, and just when Lord Kaname was almost ready to give us the ok to go back to class, IT happened.

I was lying in bed with Shiki; we both had been sleeping a lot since all jobs were off, along with classes. He was asleep when it started, but he started to tremble and twitch in his sleep.

"Shiki?" I shook him slightly; because at the moment all I could think was that he was having a nightmare. "Shiki, shh, it'll be ok, I'm here..."

His eyes opened for a split second, and in that second, I saw that his left eye had gone red. Then, he squeezed his eyes shut. The twitching slowly stopped, as did the shaking, but Shiki's eyes didn't open.

"Shiki..." I whispered in his ear. "You're stronger than him, you can beat this." When he didn't respond in any way, panic swelled inside me and made my stomach churn. "Takuma!" I screamed. I could practically feel everyone in the house jolt; I never got that loud.

Takuma practically busted the door down in his attempt to get inside. "Rima?" He asked, looking to me, then to Shiki.

"Something is really wrong." I pulled Shiki's left eye, then his right, open to show Takuma the damage, but Shiki didn't so much as twitch. He was clearly not just asleep.

Takuma put his hand on Shiki's neck, then in front of his nose and mouth. "He's got a pulse, he's breathing, I don't know..." He pulled Shiki's eyes open just to double check.

We were quiet for a bad five minutes, and then I whispered, "What if they're both just trapped in his head? What if Rido kills him?"

Takuma shook his head. "If that's it, there's nothing we can do for him right now. It'll just be a waiting game to see who wins... Do you want to come stay with me in my room for a bit, Rima?" Takuma asked, a worried look replacing his usual smile.

"No. I want to be here when he wakes up." I replied. I had been by Shiki's side all this time; I wasn't about to leave now.

Takuma gave me a hug, then slowly retreated out and shut the door behind him.

"Please, Shiki. Fight, for me." I pulled him close, and watched him quietly. "Please be ok..."

* * *

The next two weeks were hell. Ruka and Takuma took to taking care of Shiki, and me. When they weren't forcing blood tablets down Shiki's throat, they were forcing them down mine. They forced me into the shower (which at one point earned Takuma a slap across the face), or tried desperately to drag me to class (they failed) but I refused to go anywhere.

"Shiki... I know you're in there..." I stroked his cheek. "I know you can hear me... please..." I scrubbed at my eyes before the tears could fall. "You promised that you'd always fight to be with me. Please... don't make that a lie..."

"Are you alright?" Takuma asked from a chair in the corner of the room. "You're not having a panic attack again, right?" His eyes flashed with concern.

"I'm fine, Ichijou." I said, feeling oddly detached enough to call him by his last name.

"You should drink some tablet blood." Takuma pulled a case of tablets out of his pocket and went to drop one into a water glass.

"I'm not thirsty." Truth was, I was parched, but way too worried to eat or drink anything. About a week prior to this moment, Aidou had been eating pocky in the living room and I had run to the bathroom, dry heaving. Things hadn't gone well the past two weeks, in any way.

"Don't lie, Rima." Takuma dropped a tablet into the glass. "Shiki wouldn't want you to act like this, now would he?"

"I can't help that I'm scared for him." I grudgingly took a sip from the glass, cringing as it slid down my throat. My stomach churned but my throat was on fire. The throat eventually won the battle, and I drank the glass of tablet blood in a hurry.

"Scared for him but not of him." The blond mused. "You two are so perfect for each other."

"I don't need to be watched, Takuma." I cuddled up to Shiki and closed my eyes. "You can leave me alone with him."

"What if he's losing?" Takuma's smile flickered away. "And Rido wakes up and kills you?"

"If Rido assumes complete control over Shiki, if we can't get him back..." I paused and breathed deep. "Then I don't want to live."

I looked down at Shiki just in time to meet his baby blues as they swept up to my eyes. "Shiki!" I hugged him as tight as I could, closing my eyes. In the background, I heard Takuma slip out the door.

"Ow... Rima..." He flinched as I clung to him. "Loosen up a little?"

I did as he asked, but still hugged him tightly. "Shiki, I was so scared for you."

"You didn't think I could win?" He raised an eyebrow. "You shouldn't underestimate me."

"If you really won this time..." I began slowly, ignoring his comment, "Does that mean..."

Shiki closed his eyes and clutched me against him as if I might try to run. There was silence for a few moments, and we just held each other as I waited for the answer that he prepared himself to give.

"Yes." Shiki said finally, his arms like iron bindings around me. "I believe I killed my father."

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Author Note: I think this is the last chapter, unless I get requests to add more. Because I could, but if no one wants me to, then I don't need to right? Thank you for using your precious time to read my story, I appreciate all reviews and PMs asking about my stories or commenting about them. Have a nice day.


	6. Chapter 6

Author Note: Thanks to my loyal fan, Zero kiryu's girl, you will be seeing some more of this story. Starting with this chapter. We're picking up right where we left off.

**Disclaimer: **I do not, did not, and never will own Vampire Knight. I make absolutely no profit from this.

* * *

"Oh Shiki..." I murmured and let him clutch at me. "I'm sorry." I kissed his cheek.

"I'm not." Shiki muttered and he squeezed me lightly. "I'm really not."

"That's understandable." I wormed one arm out of his grip and stroked his cheek. "He's done a lot of bad things to you. If you said you were happy he was dead, I would still understand."

"Happy isn't the word." Shiki slid his arms off of me, like he did when he was giving me a chance to just walk away, an option I had never taken.

"Shiki..." I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a quick kiss. "Talk to me about it. I don't want you just keeping it inside. I'm not mad, Rido deserved that."

In my eyes, Rido had deserved a lot worse, but that didn't seem to be a needed comment in this situation, so I kept my mouth shut on that.

"He was my father." Shiki noted, his voice distant and tired. "If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here."

"He was an ass. He possessed you." I kept going and Shiki only raised an eyebrow at me. "He tried to turn you into his puppet. He tried to use you. What kind of father would do that? No father I know. He doesn't deserve to be called a father!"

Shiki assessed me for a minute, and then touched my cheek gently. "You're crying."

"Be quiet." I looked away, more angry with Rido – and myself – than anything else.

"Rima?" Shiki turned my face back towards him and he kissed me, gently, sweetly. When he pulled away, he gave me a rare smile. "Thank you for caring."

"Don't thank me for that." I shook my head a bit. "I've always cared about you. I always will. It's like thanking me for loving you, for something I do automatically."

It really came out all wrong. I swallowed hard, fearing the worst reaction possible.

Shiki just chuckled to himself. "I love you too." He kissed my forehead and started to get out of bed.

"Where are you going?" I asked, panicked. "Shiki?"

"I'm going to go take a shower, and then I'm going to go tell everyone what happened with me and Rido. You're welcome to join either one, or both." Shiki's lips twitched up, a sign that he was toying with me just a bit.

"Whore." I joked and Shiki perked up slightly. "I'll get everyone in the living room."

"I'll be out in a bit." Shiki grabbed some clothes from his closet and dresser and then turned back towards me.

I had barely just sat up in his bed; I was weaker than usual from lack of eating and worry. I was shaking a little, mostly from the excitement that he was awake and ok, but also from what I assumed was malnutrition.

He leaned in and kissed me, his hands on my hips, mine on his chest. It was really the best kiss I had ever had, just because I could tell how alive he really was. Ever since Rido first possessed Shiki, Shiki had been dampened down, if that makes any sense. Now he was alive and giving off sparks.

"You lost weight." Shiki pulled away and mumbled those words against my lips. Great, we were going to have to talk about that, when he was so close I wanted to jump his bones.

"I wasn't trying to." I sidled away from him on the bed, and then stood. "Go take your shower."

"We're going to talk about that later." He warned, but headed for the bathroom anyway.

I followed him out the door, watched him go into the bathroom and then made my way down the stairs. Lord Kaname was sitting on the couch next to Takuma, Kain was in a chair with Ruka on his lap, Aidou was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Aidou?" I looked around, but the perpetually present blonde wasn't there.

"That's a long story." Kain smirked a bit and held Ruka closer.

"In other words, he's icing his burns." Takuma gave me a strained smile. "He got a little too friendly with Ruka..."

"Takuma Ichijou!" Ruka screamed. "Don't say something like that! He just walked in on me changing! Shut it!"

"Alright, whatever, Shiki wants everyone in here so we can talk. Will someone-" I looked at Takuma since Ruka and Kain were out of the question and none of us ever asked Lord Kaname for anything, especially involving Aidou. We rarely even left Aidou and Lord Kaname alone due to physical harm to the blonde. "Please go get him before Shiki gets out of the shower."

"Right on it!" Takuma jumped up, tripped over Lord Kaname's foot and fell face first on the floor. Every person in the room shook their head slightly, but Lord Kaname helped Takuma up.

Takuma ran up to Aidou's room, and silence ensued. If I listened hard I could hear the shower still going.

"So everything's going to be ok now?" Ruka asked, snuggling against Kain. In the past two weeks, she'd been practically ignoring her boyfriend in favor of caring for me, but he seemed to understand.

"I think so." Both Kain and Ruka's gazes narrowed at my words, but I gave them a smile. Lord Kaname seemed unfazed however, as if nothing shocked him at all.

Shiki came down the stairs, dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt. He looked around, blinked, and then asked, "Where are Takuma and Aidou?" He slid his arm around my waist.

"Well, there was an incident..." Lord Kaname began. "And Takuma was supposed to go get Aidou, but there appears to be a problem with that plan."

"What sort of incident?" Shiki asked and I nudged him in the ribs, gently. "What?"

"I'll tell you about that later." I sighed. "Ruka doesn't need it dredged up in front of her again." Ruka gave me a grateful look and I shot her a quick smile.

"Come on, Aidou! You need to come downstairs!" Takuma was dragging Aidou by his arm. "Come on!" Takuma had the biggest grin on his face and Aidou was whining about how evil Takuma was.

"Can we start now please?" Shiki asked. "I would like to get this over with."

"Go ahead, Shiki." Lord Kaname nodded. "Tell your story."

* * *

Author Note: I have no clue how I'm going to do the next chapter. I'm laughing at myself for building it up to this. But there will be a next chapter, because this story has loyal reviewers who want more. Review or PM me about the story, I love my reviewers and... People who PM me! I didn't know what to call them. Thank you for taking some time out of your day to read my story. It means a lot to me.


	7. Chapter 7

Author Note: As I'm starting this, I'm dog-tired and trying not to pass out. So I apologize for any weirdness.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Vampire Knight and I make absolutely no profit from this, plain and simple.

* * *

When everyone had settled somewhere, Aidou on the couch next to Takuma (by force), Takuma next to Lord Kaname, Ruka on Kain's lap, Kain in a chair, and me on Shiki's lap with him on a chair, Shiki began.

"He trapped me inside my head. I'm not exactly sure how he did it, but he did." Shiki pulled me closer until my shoulder blades were tight against his chest.

Kaname seemed interested, as did the rest of the boys, but Ruka was toying with Kain's jacket and didn't seem to pay much attention.

"We had it out..." Shiki ran his fingers through my hair, which I hadn't bothered to put up yet. "He knows more about the blood-weapon techniques than I do, so he could've won... but he gave me an opening... I was able to rip out his heart. I believe, with this information, that he is dead." He was watching Lord Kaname for a reaction, but he didn't get one.

"So you really killed someone, Shiki?" Aidou asked, eyes wide and childish. Well, more childish than usual.

Shiki's hand knotted in my hair and his other arm pressed me against him.

"Don't ask stupid questions, Aidou." Lord Kaname reached past Takuma and slapped Aidou across the face, then went to his room without another word.

"He's having a bad day." Takuma said, in excuse of Kaname's behavior as he played nursemaid to a whimpering and teary-eyed Aidou.

"Alright." Kain muttered and stood, sweeping Ruka up in his arms and heading for her room. Ruka squeaked a little, but shot me a grin anyway.

"Come on." Shiki set me on my feet and wrapped his arm around my waist again.

"Come on where?" I wriggled against his grip slightly. "Shiki..."

He led me into the kitchen, which was vacant at the moment. "You're going to eat something. You've lost a lot of weight for however long I was out."

"Shiki, don't baby me." Trust was I didn't want to eat. My stomach was still in the "something can still go wrong mode" and as many model stereotypes as you can throw at me, I do not like throwing up.

"Rima, I'm not babying you." Shiki started searching the kitchen for something. Finally he pulled a pack of blood tablets from a cabinet and popped one in a glass of water. "I'm just trying to take care of you, like I have since we were little. Drink that."

"I'm fine." I argued, but I took a sip of the tablet blood anyway. When Shiki got to worrying, it was best to just let him do whatever he wanted.

"They won't take you on a modeling job if you look too skinny." He reminded me. "They won't want you with your ribs poking out of you."

"Gee, way to make me feel like something out of a horror flick." I downed half the glass just because it tasted good, then set it carefully back on the counter.

Shiki spun me so my back was against the fridge, and he pinned me, kissing me hard. All my annoyance with his choice of words melted away and I slipped my arms up through the barriers of his, wrapping them around his neck.

The kissing ended abruptly when his hands slipped down to my waist, and he pulled away, looking somewhat frightened.

"What?" I felt dismayed, both that he had ended our little makeout session and the reason I thought he had ended it: that he didn't like my body anymore.

"I'm afraid I'm going to break you." Shiki shook his head. "Let me make you something to eat, and you can talk about whatever you want. Don't you want to tell me what happened while I was out?"

Out. _Out._ He said it like he had gone somewhere, not been trapped in his head by his psycho father. _Out._

"I don't know much. I barely left your side." I could name one interesting thing that did happen though... "Though there was an interesting incident with Takuma..."

Shiki raised an eyebrow and moved me away from the fridge. "Go ahead, I'm listening."

* * *

Author Note: Not the most eventful chapter. Though I'm hoping to get some laughs with the next chapter. The incident that got Takuma slapped is finally going to be revealed. Thank you for using your precious time to read my stories, and I love reviews and PMs about my stories, and I would love to see yours!


	8. Chapter 8

Author Note: I'm _still _dog tired, but I wanted to talk about the Takuma incident before I went to bed. So here I am, writing another chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Vampire Knight and make no profit from this.

* * *

"So what did Takuma do?" Shiki was in the process of making me a grilled cheese, because I was clearly incapacitated and could not cook for myself, just because I had lost weight. "Are you going to tell me?"

"Basically he tried to shove me in the shower." I sighed and sipped at the tablet blood, then held the glass up to Shiki's lips so he could drink some too. "I was still fully dressed, and the water hadn't warmed up yet. I ended up soaking wet, freezing and completely pissed off at him. He got slapped."

"Did you apologize later?" Shiki asked, purely because he knew me all too well.

"Well, tensions were high..." I trailed off momentarily. "So I slapped him and then immediately started to cry and apologize."

"Bet he didn't try that again." Shiki flipped the grilled cheese over. "You were really scared, weren't you?"

"Shiki, I was terrified." I looked away. "You have no clue how scared I was when I had no clue what was going on in your head. I don't ever want to lose you..."

"Is that why you said if you couldn't get me back you didn't want to live?" Shiki met my eyes briefly; he was an incredible type of calm about the whole thing. We had always joked that we were the perfect couple because he was so good in crisis situations and I just shut down. We had just never realized the depth of it until then.

"If Rido had killed you, and we never could get you back, chances are I would've let Rido kill me." I looked away, staring at the fridge and the cupboards, anything but Shiki.

"Rima." He clicked the stove off and slid the grilled cheese onto a plate. "If something ever happens to me again, don't off yourself. You could probably do better than me anyway."

"Don't pull that shit again." I warned. "Because there is no one better than you for me. I don't ever want to hear that from you ever again."

"Fine, just eat." He slid the plate towards me.

"I don't feel good." It came out a whine. "If I end up puking you have to hold my hair back."

"Think positive." Shiki leaned down and kissed my forehead. "I'm always going to be here for you. so just think on the bright side, it's safe to do that now."

I sat down and attempted to eat.

* * *

Author note: Short chapter, sorry. I'm so tired and I kept falling asleep at my desk. I think I have one little plotline left for this story, and after a few more chapters of that I'll be quitting this again for a while, or at least until I get more requests for it. I love reviews, and PMs about my story. Thank you for taking some of your valuable time to read my story, I appreciate it!


	9. Chapter 9

Author Note: Oh cheese wiz. I wanted to go to bed after the last chapter but I wanted to hit on this plotline before I finally passed out so I would remember what I was doing when I woke up. Here we go...

**Disclaimer**: I do not and never will and did not own Vampire Knight and I make no profit from this.

* * *

I was trying to sleep in Shiki's room, class was in a few hours, I had been having unpleasant dreams already, and I had been worn out from a modeling job, when Ruka flung the door open and threw herself on the bed on my side.

"I'm so confused, Rima! Talk to me!" Ruka was obviously crying, and so I wrenched open my eyes and looked at her.

"Yes, Ruka dear?" I sat up a little.

"Ladies?" Before Ruka could answer, Shiki opened his eyes and looked at us. "Is this an urgent problem or can it be held off until later? Rima and I got very little sleep today."

"Kain broke up with me!" Ruka sobbed. She threw herself at me, crying.

"Um..." I wasn't wearing much, it had been hot the past few days, only a sports bra and short shorts covered my figure.

Shiki was clearly not happy with this development, but like a good boyfriend, he sat up and pretended to listen.

"What did he say, Ruka? Did he say why?" I rubbed Ruka's back, despite the heat she was in one of her long, lacy nightgowns.

"He said that he can't date me when I'm still in love with another man!" Ruka couldn't seem to control her sobs. "I'm not in love with Lord Kaname, he's just special to me! I don't love him like that! Really!"

Kain was very intuitive, I knew this. Between that, and the way Ruka talked about not loving Lord Kaname, I was sure that something was going on with Ruka and Lord Kaname. Or at least Ruka _about_ Lord Kaname...

"You just need to prove to Kain that you're over Lord Kaname for good. Everything will be ok, I promise." As the daylight faded, I finally managed to get Ruka calmed down and out of Shiki's room.

"You really think they'll be ok?" Shiki asked, and he pulled me down against him, even though it had to be at least 100 degrees in the room.

"If you keep cuddling me in this heat I may have to kill you." I sighed but stayed close to him. "Yeah, they'll be fine. Kain loves her way too much to be with anyone else. He only said that because he wants her to figure herself out before they get back together formally."

"What would you say if I said something like that to you?" Shiki gave me a tiny smirk. "The 'I can't be with you while you're in love with another man' bit?"

"I'd say what the hell are you talking about?" I ran my hands across his chest. "You'll always be my first and last love, and every love in between. Now go to sleep. We have class in less than two hours."

"It's too hot in here." Shiki complained. "Why did the AC have to break?"

"If we take off any more clothes we're just going to end up hotter." I sighed. "Just lay still and try to relax."

"Do you remember our first date?" Shiki asked instead of trying to go to sleep.

"It was disastrous." I recalled. "You were nervous, I was tired and cranky... it was the worst combination ever."

"But it had the best ending ever. Do you remember?" Shiki smiled softly and I shook my head. "We were at the park and you fell asleep on my shoulder." He smiled a bit more, than laughed. "But then you ended up back at my house, and you couldn't figure out where you were. You tried to dial the cops."

"That I remember." I threw my arm over my eyes, embarrassed. "Vividly. Horribly vividly."

"And I walked in on you saying you'd been kidnapped." Shiki chuckled to himself. "And then you realized where you were, turned bright red and hung up on the cops."

Shiki kept talking, but I found myself drifting off at the sound of his voice. After I spent so long in silence, his voice was a welcome sleep aid.

But then I had the nightmare.

I hadn't had a dream like this in a while. It started off really well; Shiki and I were at the park together. But when I turned away to look at something, I turned back and Shiki was smirking evilly, his left eye red.

I jolted up in bed, succeeding only in cracking my head on Shiki's.

"Ow." We both groaned at the same time. I had hit my forehead on the back of his head.

"You ok?" Shiki pulled me into his lap, he was already sitting up.

"I'm fine. Bad dream, that's all." I rubbed my head and added, "And maybe a concussion."

"What was it about?" He half turned me around in his lap.

"You." I sighed. "You being possessed again. I really don't want to talk about it. I'm fine."

But it wasn't the possession bit I was worrying over anymore. It was something much more critical.

It was our relationship.

* * *

Author Note: This is why I changed the title to confrontations, because it fits better in general. I love reviews and PMs about my story! I love your opinions! Thank you for using some of your valuable time to read my story, I appreciate it!


	10. Chapter 10

Author Note: I'm supposed to be doing something for my fiction project, but I wanted to get at least one chapter up tonight for those of you who aren't reading my ShikiXRima one-shot collection "Of Sunburns and Pocky". It's there if you want to read it, with three one-shots up.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Vampire Knight. I make no profit from this.

* * *

It was almost time for class, but Shiki was still asleep. I was trying to crawl out of bed without waking him so I could get dressed for class, but he wasn't making it easy.

As I tried to crawl around him, he grabbed me and pulled me tight against his chest. I squirmed lightly, I had a tight feeling in my chest, like I wasn't sure being this close was pleasant anymore. "Shiki..." I mumbled and tried to remove his arms from around me, to no avail. He was clearly not waking up, and I was stuck.

I could be a little late to class, I figured, but I didn't want to cuddle up to Shiki when I felt like this.

Not to mention the heat. While it was rapidly cooling, it was still way too warm out to be cuddling like that.

"Shiki..." I mumbled, trying to worm my way out of his arms. He opened his eyes and looked at me.

"What? What's wrong?" He released me instantly. "Rima, what's wrong?"

"I'm fine." I had never lied to Shiki, not like this. "It's just too warm. And we have to get to class."

Shiki looked wounded, but he jumped out of bed and started searching for a clean uniform.

I slipped out of his room and ran down to my room. Ruka stood in my doorway, blocking my entrance.

"We need to talk." She didn't move, and apparently the air conditioner had kicked in at least outside of Shiki's room, because I was now freezing in my sports bra and short shorts.

"Yes, ok, we will." I mumbled. "Can I come in and get some clothes?"

Ruka moved aside and let me come in, then shut the door behind me. I donned a clean uniform hastily and turned to look at Ruka.

"How are you and Kain?" I asked, reaching for my brush.

"We're working things out." A hint of a smile pirouetted at the corners of her lips. "But I want to talk about you and Shiki."

"What about Shiki and me?" I dragged the brush through my hair and reached for my ribbons.

"Something isn't right. You're acting weird about being with him." Ruka had hit it spot-on and I knew it.

"Things are just feeling a little odd between us." I fumbled with my left pigtail. "Usually I'm the one trying to take care of him, you know? And now, ever since he woke up, he's been trying to baby me and take care of me. It's just a foreign concept to me."

"Nice cover up." Ruka sighed and sat on my bed. "Be honest with me, are you falling out of love with him?"

"No! That's nowhere near the right word for it!" I finally got my left pigtail tied into submission. I decided to spill the beans. I picked up the other ribbon and started trying with the right pigtail. "I think... its just insecurities about the future. I love him so much... I'm just scared."

"Scared of what, exactly?" Ruka's face had softened, as had her tone. "Rima, you need to be talking to Shiki about these kinds of things."

"I'm just scared, ok?" I dropped my ribbon and bent down to get it, hiding the tears in my eyes. "So many things could happen... I'm just terrified. Of losing him. Of falling out of love with him. Of someone else trying to control him. About our feelings for each other morphing into something else completely..." The tears slid down now, and I fumbled with my right pigtail.

"Let me." Ruka wasn't one for hugs and kisses for comfort; she did other things to help you out. She carefully tied my pigtail up.

"Shiki and I have been together so long, Ruka," I grabbed a Kleenex off my vanity and wiped at my eyes. "I'm scared that things will change."

"Things will change." Ruka assured me, spinning me around and wiping my face dry. "But you and Shiki have a special bond. And if this has anything to do with Kain and me breaking up, you and Shiki aren't like that. Kain and I have had feelings for each other for a long time, but we haven't acted on them." She bit her lip. "We're still working to try and have a bond like you and Shiki. Things are always changing, Rima, but true love like yours lasts forever."

I looked away. I didn't know how to respond to that. I turned and brushed my bangs out, then headed for the door. "We need to get to class, Ruka." I warned her as she looked blankly into the mirror.

"Right. Do me a favor?" She asked and I looked at her. "Talk to Shiki about this. There's no one better."

She breezed past me and I stood there for a minute, alone, until I saw Shiki heading for me.

"Hey, Shiki." I walked alongside of him. "Can we talk later? After class."

Shiki held my hand, threaded his fingers through mine like he had for years. "My time is yours."

* * *

Author Note: I feel like this was an uneventful chapter, even though I know emotions were blowing up with Rima. There will still be more; I'm not done with this plot line, so keep an eye out if you like this! Thank you for reading, reviewing, PMs about my story, everything. I appreciate all of you, my readers.


	11. Chapter 11

Author Note: First off, honorable mention to Zero kiryu's girl again, because the last chapter felt horrible to me, and she praised it. Second of all, soon I'm going to be picking a fiction project and adds may start coming slow if I can't strike a balance. Sorry in advance. Is it weird I thought of the song "Say My Name" by Destiny's Child as I wrote this?

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Vampire Knight or make any profit from this.

* * *

Class wasn't exactly normal. Everyone seemed tense, especially Ruka, Kain, Shiki and me. When our teacher dismissed us, Shiki looked at me as if he expected me to attack him.

"You wanted to talk?" He asked, but even though everyone had already left, he didn't move from his seat.

"My room." I elaborated. "Come on."

The tension between us was unbelievable. We had always been fairly easygoing around each other, just let whatever we had to say fly, but now it was like we were both walking on eggshells.

I shut the door to my room behind us. I couldn't say it. I didn't want to say it. I had to say it.

"Shiki..." I mumbled, gave him a glance and then looked back at the floor. My chest ached, but it was no longer from my old injury. I needed to say it. "You may have noticed I've been acting... strange around you."

"Everyone has noticed that." Shiki regarded me with worried blue eyes. "Are you alright, Rima? Is something happening at home, what's going on with you? You've never kept anything from me."

"I'm sorry." The apology was automatic, but I really was sorry. I felt horrible for keeping something from Shiki, especially after what we'd been through lately.

"I know you are." His eyes traced my face, landing on my lips. He wanted to kiss me, it was obvious, but he was just as scared as me. "I'm not mad." He added quickly.

"You don't even know what's going yet." I protested.

"Am I ever mad at you?" Shiki finally came over to me, but instead of holding me, or kissing me, he just took my hands in his. "Why don't you trust me like you used to?"

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." I mumbled, looking down. I could name quite a few guys who would've been out of there at that, thinking it meant we were over, but Shiki stayed.

He squeezed my hands gently.

"I... it's just fear." I looked up into his eyes. "I still love you... I'm just scared... of all the things that could happen... Like someone else trying to use you like Rido did..."

"I won't let anyone else win, ever." Shiki was staring me down, his gaze as unbreakable as a cat's.

"I'm worried... about things changing." I shuddered at the mere thought of it. "I don't ever want to be apart from you, but I'm worried... what if things, circumstances, feelings, change?"

Shiki blinked, looking at me blankly for a minute. "Have your feelings for me changed?" His voice was cautious, guarded, something it hadn't been towards me in years.

"No. I couldn't love anyone else." I squeezed his hands gently. "But I'm worried about yours changing..."

"Never." The word was a whisper on his lips. "You know I always want to be with you. We met when we were 10, Rima, I don't believe our feelings for each other will ever change."

I slowly started to feel better. Things would change, but _we _wouldn't. We were indifferent to time; no matter how much passed, we were desperately in love.

I pulled Shiki's arms around me and tugged him down for a kiss.

Yes. We were in love.

* * *

Author note: Alright, now I'm completely Writer Blocked on this one. There should be more, I just can't tell what. Suggestions welcome, but for now, you can keep checking my other ShikiXRima, a one-shot collection called "Of Sunburns And Pocky", which I will be updating because it's much harder to get writer's block on that. Thank you for reading this, it means a lot to me!


	12. Chapter 12

Author Note: Thank you Zero kiryu's girl, again. Your suggestion definitely helped me out a lot, and I will be adding to this. On another note, I want to do another chapter today, but I have a family dinner tonight and sometimes my family just exhausts me, so if I don't I'm very sorry.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Vampire Knight, and I make absolutely no profit from this.

* * *

Lord Kaname called us down to the living room the next day, saying he had a new student to introduce to us. Shiki and I gave each other a look as we left his room, we all remembered our last new student, Maria Kurenai. That hadn't turned out so well.

We saw the girl immediately, she had brown hair and reddish brown eyes, and she looked just a little like Lord Kaname.

"He-" She looked at Shiki and her eyes went wide. "Nii-san?"

Shiki backpedaled up the stairs, trying to grab me and run all at the same time. He didn't seem as scared of the girl as it seemed like he didn't want to deal with her.

"Nuh uh." I dug in my heels and Shiki sighed. I grabbed him and turned him to look at me. "You're going to explain to me how you know this girl, your '_little sister'._"

"Keiko, you don't belong here." Shiki addressed the girl.

"But..." The girl's, Keiko's, eyes teared up. "Nii-san, I came all this way to be with you... I missed you..."

I raised an eyebrow at my boyfriend and attempted to pull him down the stairs. Shiki wrapped his arms around me, pinning my arms to my sides, a silent "stay out of this."

"Keiko, get out of here." Shiki shot her a glare, despite that Keiko was almost crying at this point. "No one wants you here."

"Shiki!" I struggled to get out of his arms. "Shiki what the hell has gotten into you?"

Keiko ran out, sobbing, and Shiki relaxed.

"Shiki, what the f-" I realized everyone was looking at Shiki and me. Aidou had slipped out, presumably to find Keiko. Kaname, Kain, Ruka and Takuma were all looking at me.

"We have an audience." Shiki murmured, and he seemed to be back to his old self.

"We need to talk." I huffed. "My room, now." I did everything to get Shiki up the stairs except drag him by his hair, and when we were finally in my room, I let every word in my brain fly. "What the hell, Shiki? What the hell? What has gotten into you? If that girl is seriously your sister, why would you treat her like that? She looked heartbroken!"

At this point I leaned in, checking the color of Shiki's eyes. Both were still icicle blue, as they always were when he wasn't possessed.

"Do you want a kiss?" Shiki asked, amused. "Because that's what it looks like you want."

"Idiot." I blew out my breath hard. "Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"That girl is my half-sister. Older sister, technically. Though when she acts like that she acts like she's younger." Shiki sighed and sat on my bed, running his fingers through his hair. "She worked for Rido... my father. She has a bit of a Bipolar personality, she can be like you just saw her, vulnerable, sad and innocent, or she can be pure evil. Now that he's dead, I should trust her, but I don't. She had a fear of our father, and that's what he used to control her. If I don't keep a leash on her, no one will and then she'll do something bad."

I wasn't sure what to say to that. Shiki had mentioned he had "a sibling" to me before, so it wasn't like he had lied. Still, I felt left out of the loop. Instead of saying anything, I sat beside him on my bed.

"Do you trust me?" Shiki asked. "Do you believe me?"

"Of course. And any enemy of yours is an enemy of mine." I leaned against him slightly, fitting myself against his side like a puzzle piece.

"She's my sister." He sighed. "And she's not technically evil. She's more like a messenger for evil. And I always try not to shoot the messenger."

"Right. So what do you want me to do while you ream an innocent looking girl in front of everyone?" I asked, somewhat annoyed.

"Try not to look like you want to slap me?" Shiki leaned down to me and gave me an Eskimo kiss. "Just stand by my side, that's all I need."

Little did I know he would need a lot more than that.

* * *

Author Note: Short, sorry. I've got a busy day today, but hopefully there will be at least one more chapter today. (I've been writing my fiction project longhand so I write that in the car.) I love your opinions, send me some! And thank you so much for your time spent reading my story, every person's read means a lot to me.


	13. Chapter 13

Author Note: I have to leave for dinner soon, but I'm going to try and get this up before that. Just saying, you probably won't get an immediate review reply if you review this.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Vampire Knight and I make no profit from this.

* * *

The next few days, Shiki spent, generally, yelling at Keiko. Shiki and I slept in his room, together in case Keiko tried to pull anything.

"Where is Keiko?" Shiki asked Aidou. My puppy-like boyfriend had followed me downstairs when I came to get a glass of water for a blood tablet, and was now interrogating Aidou.

"She's in her room!" Aidou was clearly exasperated. "She said she didn't feel well, you should be nicer to her!"

Shiki muttered a handful of mismatched swearwords and ran for Keiko's room. I nearly dropped my glass, but instead set it on the counter and ran after him.

When we got there, Keiko was in the throes of what looked like a seizure. Her right eye was flashing, blue-red-blue-red, and fear was in her left.

"Keiko!" Shiki held her down, and eventually both her eyes turned red again and she stopped thrashing.

"Nii-san?" She whispered, sounding like a child who had just come from a nightmare. "Nii-san?" She asked again when Shiki didn't respond.

"I'm here." Shiki said finally. "What was happening?"

I started to say "She just had a seizure, why the hell would she know?" but Keiko cut me off.

"Daddy wanted control." Keiko murmured, starting to drift off. "Daddy wanted control but I wouldn't let him. I'll be a good girl for you nii-san..." She slowly fell into what I assumed was unconsciousness.

"Well, I feel guilty now." Shiki sighed. "He's just using her like he was me and I've been reaming her this whole time because I thought she was evil."

"We should let her sleep..." I said but didn't move towards the door.

Shiki turned to me, his eyes mournful. "Am I a bad person, Rima? Be honest."

"You could never be a bad person." I pulled him into a hug. "You're too goodhearted, too sweet."

"She's just as much of a puppet as I was... I've been so cruel to her." He brushed my hair back. "I'm sorry, I need to tell her that."

I sat with him in a corner chair, him holding me on his lap.

"No one deserves to be a puppet." Shiki whispered, obviously pained. "No one."

"I know." I held his hands. "But you know what this means, right?"

"Rido's alive." He nodded. "I know."

* * *

Author Note: Another short chapter, sorry. But I have to leave in like ten minutes and I figured it was ok to end it there. I love reviews and PMs! I love your opinions! Send me some? Lastly, thank you for taking some of your time to read my story, it means a lot to me!


	14. Chapter 14

Author Note: Ok, the majority of this was written at dinner, with my Mom reading over my shoulder. In other words, if it sucks, I am sorry, but I didn't want to get in trouble.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Vampire Knight or make any profit from this.

* * *

That night, as Shiki talked with Keiko, I met with Lord Kaname.

"Rido is still alive." I sighed. "He tried to possess Keiko, but she fought him off." I chose not to mention the grand maul seizure she had in the process. "I only ask for your observation and warnings when you notice something amiss, Lord Kaname, nothing more."

Lord Kaname nodded, shifted in his seat, and then dismissed me with a flick of his wrist. I tiptoed my way back to Keiko's room and put my ear to the door.

"I'm sorry..." Shiki began slowly. "I thought you were still the old Keiko. But I can see now that you've changed." I leaned on the door a bit trying to hear her response, but the door creaked open. "And that is Rima Touya, my eavesdropping girlfriend." Shiki added with humor in his tone, coming over to kiss my forehead.

Keiko smiled faintly at the interaction, but I could tell that she, like when Shiki had fought off Rido, was in a lot of pain.

"Are you going to be ok, Keiko?" I asked her.

She flinched and began to tremble. "It just hurts. As many times as I fight him off, the pain never stops coming back."

Shiki looked at her with sympathetic eyes. "We'll find a way to stop him." He murmured, and then towed me out the door. "Get some rest." He shut the door behind us and put a hand on the small of my back, ushering me out of the hall and into his room. "I feel so guilty, having been so mean to her when she's clearly having just as much trouble as I was." He tugged me up against his side. "Am I a horrible brother?" He asked and pulled me down next to him onto his bed.

"Well you're not my brother..." I flashed him a quick grin. "But you just misunderstood her intentions. That doesn't make you horrible." I looked at him, giving him a small smile. "Lets let her sleep for a while. You know how much pain she's in... now, will you relax? You don't have it in your heart to be bad. You're so hard on yourself."

"You know, as a child I was told..." Shiki began, but then he looked at me and stopped.

"Go on." I prompted.

"As a child I was told if I wanted Mom to be happy, to live like a puppet." A strange note of resignation flavored his tone.

"What?" My head jolted up nearly whacking him in the chin. "That's terrible, Shiki. That's terrible and you know that right?"

At first he didn't say anything, just squeezed me to him a bit tighter. Then he sighed. "I lived like a puppet until... I met you. Then I wanted to be a better person, my own person, for you."

"You know," I said, and then voiced my very first thought when I had heard him say that. "You have absolutely no clue how much I love you." I hugged him tightly, nearly falling into his lap.

For a moment he just held me, then he lay back on the bed with me lying across his chest. "I love you too, Rima. More than you will ever know."

Then, we heard a scream, and all love was forgotten in a rush to get to Keiko's room.

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Author Note: Short, I know, but I hope it will keep you satisfied for a while. I'm trying to play with my fiction project until I get something likable, but my family dinner was much too stressful to work on my fiction there, so I worked on this instead. Reviews and PMs about my story welcome, I love your opinions! Thank you for using your time to read my story, I appreciate it!


	15. Chapter 15

Author Note: I find it ironic that I'm listening to a song with beating hearts in the title while I write about vampires...

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vampire Knight. I make no profit whatsoever from this story.

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As Shiki and I rushed into Keiko's room, we saw Aidou in a corner, pouting and looking overall dejected. Keiko was clutching her blankets, eyes wide and scared.

"Are you alright?" Shiki went over to her and I was delegated to going over to Aidou.

"What'd you do, blondie?" I asked, crouching by Aidou.

"I just wanted to check on the new girl... she threw her alarm clock at me." Aidou pointed to a mess of wires and plastic on the floor near the door.

"Right. Stop spying on people. And get out." With those words barely out of my mouth, Aidou ran out, looking like he was the victimized one.

"She ok, Shiki?" I stood and walked over to the bed. Where Shiki hovered protectively over Keiko.

Shiki put a finger to my lips, and then nodded down at Keiko, who had either passed out or fallen asleep. I pulled Shiki out of the room and closed the door behind us.

"You really don't think Aidou was doing something dangerous, right?" Shiki asked as we headed for the living room.

"Aidou?" I laughed. "Other than spying on her, which is dangerous for him, no, he wasn't. He's too smart to pull any bad stunts on Keiko with you around."

Shiki wove his fingers through mine, holding my hand. "Maybe Aidou could be her friend, in the long run..."

"Yeah, and maybe pigs will fly." I rolled my eyes. "_You_ don't even get along with Aidou. What makes you think Keiko with her shy/happy/innocent-possessed-slightly insane thing going will get along with Aidou?"

"Because I believe opposites don't attract." Shiki leaned down and kissed my lips, just once.

"You, my dear, are such a tease." I grabbed him by the back of his head and pulled him down, kissing him.

"Tsk, tsk." Came Ruka's voice as she headed towards her room. "Such affection in such a public place. Would your parents approve?"

I pulled away first. "Ruka, you know I love you to death, but I am not afraid to kick your ass."

Ruka giggled to herself and slipped into her room.

"You're in a bad mood." Shiki noted. "PMS?"

The sad thing being, I would've answered that truthfully if it were PMS. "No. Just stressed about all this Rido shit."

"Me too." He pulled me closer. "But we all have to relax... being completely on guard at all times will only kill us..."

"Will you be able to fight him off again, if the need arises?" I pressed. "If he tries to possess you again?"

"I'll always fight to be with you, Rima..." Shiki's arms were tight around me now, nearly squeezing the air from my lungs, but I didn't mind. "But I'm worried about Keiko. Rido has tricked her with promises and sweet words before..."

"But she's fought him off for you before." I protested. "She won't just give up for his tricks because she wants to be here with you."

"Mm." Shiki moved us down the hall, towards his room. "I hope so... But Rido seems to have a stronger link to her than he does with me, possibly because of how long she worked for him..."

"You're not telling me something." I sighed. "Spill. Right now, Shiki."

"Well..." Shiki hurried me into his room and shut the door. "I was wondering if their link could be a more permanent one. If their souls are bonded, I guess you could say."

"And if they are?" My stomach was churning, I knew the answer and I knew it well.

"Then the only way to kill Rido for good is to kill Keiko." Shiki sighed. "And no one wants that, so we better hope that that's not the case..."

I nodded, but somehow I knew that something wasn't right with Keiko, and that this was going to turn into something much bigger...

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Author Note: Sorry, it's so short. I've been having trouble juggling my three projects (Confrontations (this), my fiction project, and a new RukaXKain that I will put up soon called Fixed, title not final). I always want to update for you guys, but I'm having a bit of a writing crisis so I'm sorry for that too. Reviews and PMs welcome, thank you for reading my story!


	16. Chapter 16

Author Note: We may be nearing the end of this story, I'm not sure... I'm never sure.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Vampire Knight or make any profit from this.

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Shiki and I took turns going to class that week, and the week after. Keiko got progressively weaker, but she still was able to fight Rido off, despite the seizures that it caused.

When I came into Keiko's room, worn out from class, I found Keiko shaking in her bed, and Shiki passed out on the floor.

"Keiko, what happened?" I asked, crouching by Shiki. He had a pulse, he was breathing, but other than the rise and fall of his chest, he wasn't moving. "Keiko!"

Keiko flinched and I could see her eyes had gone hollow. She wasn't dead; she just looked as if her soul had been ripped out. Empty.

Then she passed out.

"Shit..." I rolled Shiki onto his side, propped him up against Keiko's nightstand and started toward the door. But then it hit me, what could Takuma or Lord Kaname do? If Shiki and Keiko were both fighting off Rido, there was nothing anyone could do.

I forced a blood tablet down each of their throats, and then sat next to Shiki, stroking his hair. "You've had a hard life..." I began slowly. "But that doesn't make it ok to give up, either of you. I-"

I looked up quickly as the door creaked open. Aidou stood there, and he jumped when he saw me. "Rima! What are you doing in here?"

"Aidou, I don't need you to make this situation any worse." I sighed. "Please leave..."

"What's wrong with Keiko?" Aidou ran over to the bed and grabbed Keiko's hand. "Is she ok?"

"I believe they're fighting off Rido, hopefully for the last time." I held Shiki's head in my hands. "Please don't distract her, you'll only make matters worse."

"Keiko..." Aidou whimpered, but he let go of her hand.

"You really like her, don't you?" I asked softly, staring down at Shiki. Even though I wanted to be strong, for Shiki, Keiko, and even Aidou, it hurt to think of exactly how much I loved Shiki. It hurt worse to think of what would happen if he lost.

"I love her..." This wasn't Aidou. He was never this calm, unless he was being devious.

I turned back to Shiki, laying beside him on the floor and pillowing his head with my arm.

"How did you know you loved Shiki?" Aidou asked, and I glanced at him, but he was staring down at Keiko's face, not looking at me.

"We were friends for a long time..." Why was I talking about this with Aidou? "It just grew into more as every day passed. For a while, when things really started to change between us, it didn't seem right, but then everything settled and we figured out that we were in love."

"I want Keiko to love me... but she's afraid of me." Aidou reached up to touch Keiko's face, but then he dropped his hand. "You're in love, what do you suggest, Rima?"

"Why aren't you asking Kain for love advice? Why me?" I ran my fingers across Shiki's lips. "Kain's in love too."

"Kain's not a girl." Aidou stated and I contained my laughter at the obviousness of it. "He doesn't know what girls want."

"Just..." I sighed. This was not how I pictured spending the day. "Be nice to her... above all else. If you force yourself on her in any way, she won't want you. Think of her like a kitten, you have to let her come to you. If you just grab her, you'll get clawed."

Aidou smiled at me, a real, kind smile like I hadn't seen on him in forever. "Thanks."

I leaned in and kissed Shiki lightly on the lips...

And was instantly sucked into the battle.

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Author Note: I'm sorry these chapters are so short. I have something to do in 18 minutes, so I'll write the next one and chapter two of Fixed when I'm done doing that thing. I love reviews and PMs as usual, and thank you for using your time to read my story, I appreciate it!


	17. Chapter 17

Author Note: I definitely believe we're nearing the end of this story. I mean, I think so at least...

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Vampire Knight or make any profit from this.

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Shiki and Keiko both looked at me with shocked expressions, they were in the process of fighting off Rido. Though, it seemed, with blood whips against blood whips, no one was getting anywhere.

"Restrain him." I told Shiki and Keiko. "I can help, just restrain him."

They did as I told, and I threw a bolt of electricity at Rido. He thrashed with the impact, and then went still.

"Daddy?" Keiko whispered. With her arm that she was using for the blood whip behind her, she turned and buried her face in my shoulder.

"Don't look, you two." Shiki commanded, and I buried my face in Keiko's hair. It was just easier to do what he said then to argue, especially in this situation.

A mere few seconds later, we were all jolted from the mind-space and into our bodies.

"Keiko?" Aidou asked as Keiko slowly opened her eyes. "Keiko! Are you alright?"

Keiko gave him a tiny, slightly fearful smile, like maybe she trusted him just the tiniest bit.

Shiki was staring at me, and I could only guess that he and Keiko felt the same way as I did: like I had been hit by a truck and then it had backed over me.

Still, we got to our feet, finally walking out of Keiko's room and leaving her with Aidou.

As we settled in Shiki's room, Shiki looked at me. "He's really dead. It's different this time..."

"Mind if I ask what you did?" I was trying to find a position for us to lie together that involved the least pain for both of us. Every time one of us moved, uncomfortable, in the slightest, the other flinched in pain.

"Ripped his head off and his heart out." When I didn't flinch, he added, "Either you're tougher than I thought or you're just really glad it's over."

"How about I think he deserved everything he got and more?" I finally settled beside Shiki, laying on my side so I could stare at him.

"You realize you're talking about my father, right?" Shiki moved slightly to put his hand under my head. We both flinched.

"Yes, I realize that. Do you care?" I closed my eyes.

"No." Shiki ran his thumb over my lips. "I don't care at all."

With dreams, nightmares, and possessions behind us, we curled against each other and fell asleep in the daylight that streamed through the curtains.

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Author Note: That, my dears, is it. The end of the story. I'm actually playing with the idea of creating bonus material though, a spin-off of Aidou and Keiko. Tell me if you'd like to see that! Reviews and PMs are appreciated, but thank you for sticking with me to the last chapter. I want to thank all my loyal reviewers (you know who you are) for reviewing this constantly.


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